(τζατζίκι, t-zat-zee-kee)
Tzatziki is a yoghurt based… dip? Sauce? Honestly, it doesn’t really fit into either of those categories neatly. Like hummus, it’s somewhere between a dip, a sauce, and being its own side dish or meze.
I find the Greek term σαλάτα (salata) covers it pretty well. It directly translates to salad, but actually means anything not eaten alone and consisting mostly of non-meat ingredients mixed together – I was on holiday once with someone who ordered a τυροσαλάτα, which translates literally to “cheese salad,” and was surprised to receive a side plate containing a blended mush of soft cheese with oreganum, and not a single lettuce leaf.
Tzatziki is popular throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and something very similar (but distinct!) is used extensively in Indian cuisine, raita. There is also a closely related Slavic version of tzatziki called tarator, but while its ingredients are quite similar, the dish itself is usually very different in taste, feel, and style of eating.
A little bit of Tzatziki history
Linguistically, tzatziki is an English loanword from the Greek τζατζίκι, which comes from the Turkish word cacik (roughly pronounced dje-djig), which itself is likely a Turkified compound of some Arabic or Persian root relating to herbs.
The Turkish version of the word was first documented in the 1800s, so the dish must have existed at least by then, but yoghurt itself has been used as a salata in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine for as long as yoghurt has existed, and I’m absolutely confident that someone thought of putting some cucumber and herbs and spices in yoghurt long before the 1800s.
As one of those dishes that’s eaten all over, there are of course tons of regional and personal variations on tzatziki. The only element always present is the yoghurt, since even the cucumber is sometimes absent.
How to make Tzatziki
The recipe I give here is the combination that I usually make, that I can confidently say will go fantastically with nearly any Mediterranean or Middle-Eastern dish, like the meze meal pictured above, or Greek stuffed peppers!
One important thing to note is that regular plain yoghurt is really not ideal here. Greek yoghurt is distinctly different from regular yoghurt in that it is thoroughly strained of liquid long before reaching a store, making it far thicker and more solid than regular yoghurt, which tends to be somewhat thin. If you can’t get Greek yoghurt then you can make tzatziki with regular yoghurt, but keep an eye out for some of the good stuff next time you’re at the shops!
Tzatziki Recipe
